Ten Things I Hate about James Potter
by Livelier
Summary: Lily Evans makes a list of the ten things she hates most about James Potter. But does she really hate those things? Oneshot. Fluffy...like a cloud.


A/N: WHAZZ UP?? Yeah, that was dumb, I know. Okay this has been done a million times, but the dialouge just popped into my head, so I wrote it down. It only took about 30 minutes, but I'm still proud of it. R&R! Thanks!

Ten Things I, Lily Evans, Hate about James Potter

Lily Evans stormed up the stairs to her dorm, and slammed the door shut behind her. "Ugh, I hate him. Needs to go die in a deep, dark hole…" she muttered as she entered the room. Lily didn't notice her best friend, Alice Prewett, sitting on her bed, staring calmly at Lily.

"What did he do this time?" Alice asked, nearly making Lily jump 3 feet (A/N: I'm not familiar with metric conversions, so I'm going to stick with my standard) in the air. Alice smirked amusedly at her.

"Just being his usual Potter-ish self. You know, self-centered, arrogant berk," Lily grumbled, placing her hand over her heart, and waiting for it's erratic beat to calm.

Alice rolled her eyes at her best friend in response. Why was it that everyone but Lily herself saw how much she loved James, but Lily couldn't get her head far enough out of her arse to see it as well? An idea began forming itself it her head, and her eyes sparkled in anticipation.

"You know what you need, Lils?" Alice started, patting the space next to her invitingly. Lily sat down on the bed and raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"A girls night out?" she supplied eagerly. Her brain began working in overtime. _We could steal the Invisibility cloak from James, and that little map thing from Sirius, and sneak to Hogsmeade! _Lily mused silently, and then tried to remember if she had enough spare change to buy a firewhiskey from the Three Broomsticks.

Meanwhile, Alice's brow knitted together, wondering where exactly 'out' was and how much trouble they would get into if they were caught. Normally, Lily wouldn't suggest such a thing, but after her rows with James, she gets a bit…barmy. "Er, no," Alice answered, shaking her head. Lily's face fell, and she frowned at Alice. "You need to vent," Alice announced matter-of-factly.

"I need to vent," Lily repeated in a flat tone. She didn't like the look on her friend's face, much less the mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Yup," she chirped, taking Lily's hand and leading her to a desk in one corner of the room. She pulled out a sheet of parchment, and a new quill. "Just make a list of all the things you hate about James, and tack it above your bed so you can read it every time he irritates you," Alice explained.

"A list." Lily cocked her head to the side, warming up to the idea considerably. "A list," she said again, this time with more conviction. Bending her head low over the parchment, Lily began scribbling away.

**Ten Things I, Lily, Evans, Hate about James Potter**, she wrote across the top of the page. Alice slipped silently out of the room, unnoticed by Lily.

Ten minutes later, Lily head the parchment back away from her face, admiring her work, and read it over.

**1. The way he always runs his hand through his hair so it looks like he just got off his broom. **

Lily stopped right there. Just the other day, she had called that action endearing, and when she asked his friend, Remus Lupin, about it, he had told her that it was just a nervous habit. Later that night, after Lily had relayed the story to her roommates, she had laughed and even went as far as to confide in her friends that she thought it was cute.

Lily frowned, making a mental note to go back and change that later, before plowing onward.

**2. He hexes random people in the halls—for fun!**

Again, she halted, and reread that sentence. Come to think of it, she realized that he had only cursed those who had insulted his friends, or Lily herself lately. Lily pushed that thought away and moved onto the next one.

**3. That arrogant smirk of his that makes me want to gauge out his eyes.**

Lily smiled, pleased that she finally found something that she really did hate. Then she pictured the aforementioned smile, and all her resolve wavered when she felt those all too familiar butterflies build up in her stomach. _For the love of Merlin!_ Was there anything on this blasted list she actually hated?

"Merlin's beard!" Lily screeched, standing up abruptly. With a loud clatter, the chair she was seated on fell over. _I'm in love with James bloody Potter!_ she realized.

Lily threw herself onto her bed, and buried her face in the pillow. "Why me?" she moaned, but the sound was muffled by the plush obstruction in her face. She began punching the said pillow, and swearing intermittently.

"Er, am I interrupting something?" a deep voice asked from the doorway. Lily's head snapped up, and her fists froze mid-punch. James Potter hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "I did knock, but there was no answer…"

In an attempt to regain what dignity she had, Lily stood slowly and tried to discreetly smooth her hair, and straighten out her shirt. "How…?" she began.

"Freezing Charm," James explained, motioning to the stairs. Lily opened her mouth again, but he was quicker. "Sirius and I figured it out in second year. Don't ask why."

"Oh" was all Lily could manage. She blinked and then realized she should address one particular topic. "Is there a reason you are here?" Lily asked politely.

His eyes widened in shock. He had expected more yelling, and cursing, but instead he got this. And James had to admit he would take the trade any day. "Alice said you wanted to talk to me," he replied, confused.

_Alice? What—oh, bugger. Alice._ Lily held back the urge to groan and fixed James with a sincere gaze. "Yes, I, er, just wanted to apologize. For everything really," she told him.

James's eyes flew even wider, looking like they were about to pop right out of his head, and for one wild moment, Lily pondered his physical and mental well-being. "Why?" he croaked out.

Lily looked down and fidgeted uncomfortably. "You've, er, grown up a lot this year, and I have realized that no one deserves everything I've ever done to you." Lily looked up and smiled at him, green eyes meeting hazel. "Besides, it's not as fun to yell and hex if you just sit there and take it instead of fighting back," she teased. James's mouth fell open now and he couldn't figure out how to close it.

Regaining full function of his mouth and eyes, James sidled a bit closer, so they were face to face. "Do you know what else Alice told me?" he asked, smiling in an alluring sort of way.

Lily tried to block out the sound of her pulse hammering in her ears. "Hmm?" she breathed back, unable to form a coherent question.

He took another step forward. "She also told me to ask you out for one last time," James informed her, raising his eyebrows quizzically.

"Alice." Lily had meant the word to come out harshly, sounding more like a curse, but instead, the words came out strangled and flat. She was basically hyperventilating due to his proximity, and her eyes wandered, refusing to meet his.

"So, I was thinking, maybe you would like to come to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" James suggested, seemingly unaffected by their closeness.

Lily floundered around in her brain for a while, attempting to come up with one of her clever, witty responses, but the word "yes" bubbled to her lips before she could think of one.

James beamed down at her, his face glowing, and radiating happiness. "That's all I needed to hear," he murmured before bending down to brush his lips against hers. When he pulled back, he was still grinning and Lily felt like a puddle of mush at his feet. A Muggle movie, The Wizard of Oz came to mind suddenly. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

From then on, Lily's list was better known as **Ten Things I, Lily Evans, love about James Potter**, and it hung above her bed to remind her of the one thing she had even when she felt like the world had come crashing down around her: love.

A/N: Love it? Hate it? Want more of it? Feel free to let me know, so I can work on some things. I've got some more ideas floating around in my head, so if you guys have any constructive criticism for me, I would love to hear it. I've got an awesome amount of hits, and visitors, but hardly any reviews, so I'm begging you, please please review. I get so happy when I read them. Seriously, I felt like my face was going to freeze in a smile the other day. Anywho, Thanks!


End file.
